Braille Live

Mesothelioma Link to Power Station Death

A Coroner in Bridgewater, Somerset has criticised standards at Hinkley Point Power Station at an Inquest concerning Roger Prideux who died from the asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma.

The Coroner said-
“There was a time when there were one or two cases like this a year, but now I have about 15. I think we are coming to the peak in asbestos cases…The dangers of asbestos were known by the end of World War Two and Hinkley has obviously shown a blatant disregard for its employees.”

Mr Prideux was exposed to asbestos when he worked at Hinkley Point during the 1960’s.

John Pickering and Partners LLP have successfully recovered compensation for many workers who have developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening as a result of being exposed to asbestos during their employment at many power stations. In particular, we have dealt with a number of claims arising out of asbestos exposure at Hinkley Point. Please click here for a link to information about the use of asbestos in power stations and case studies of successful asbestos claims that we have dealt with.

Mesothelioma Advice

Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that affects the lining around the lungs (the pleura) and certain other organs such as the peritoneum. There is no cure for mesothelioma. Radical surgery is available to a limited number of eligible patients. Alimta is the only licensed form of chemotherapy for mesothelioma in England and Wales, but funding is not available for the drug in all parts of the country. The condition can be difficult to diagnose and patients generally survive less than 18 months from diagnosis. The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos. Mesothelioma often occurs 30 to 40 years after asbestos exposure, with no upper time limit. Although mesothelioma is an occupational disease, victims include teachers, nurses, doctors, shop workers and family members of people who have worked with asbestos.

According to the British Lung Foundation, more than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and there is one mesothelioma death every five hours. The number of deaths from mesothelioma increased from 153 in 1968 to 1,969 in 2004 and is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015.

The British Lung Foundation, supported by John Pickering and Partners LLP, launched the first Action Mesothelioma Day on 27th February 2006, to raise awareness about mesothelioma, to improve the treatment and care of mesothelioma patients, and to lobby for better funding for research into mesothelioma and for the protection and education of people working with asbestos. The event this year, on 27th February 2007, launched the Mesothelioma Framework, initiated by Professor Mike Richards, the “cancer tsar” and highlighted the British Thoracic Society’s guidelines on treatment and care for people with mesothelioma.

John Pickering and Partners LLP is a specialist legal practice that has represented claimants in the leading asbestos “test cases” in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three claimants in the Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary “Alice: A Fight For Life.” Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of the victims of asbestos.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.

Further information:
Kevin Johnson, Partner
John Pickering and Partners LLP
19 Castle Street
Liverpool L2 4SX
Telephone: 0151 227 1214
E-mail: kj@johnpickering.co.uk
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk

FREEPHONE: 0800 854201